Give 'Em Hell's Kid
by Fanless
Summary: Alexis Irvine is the new boy in camp, and one of the strangest. He's got split personalities, fairly unnatural coloring and.. Hades for a father? Set between Sea of Monsters and Titan's Curse events. Rated PG for violence and some strong language.
1. The New Kid Cometh: or, I Take A Fall

Prologue

_The Lord of the Dead was worried._

_Hades wasn't a jittery god by any means, so when he worried, there was definitely something wrong. _

_Some denizen of his kingdom or other seemed to have completely disappeared. This was obviously against the rules, and however it happened, the thing had upset the balance in the Underworld._

_His servants were uneasy as well-- Cerberus himself whined and strained at his tether-- but Hades was the only one who knew exactly what was wrong. Unfortunately it was summer, and Queen Persephone was spending time with her mother, or he would have gone to her to puzzle it out together._

_Hades hunched in his throne, drumming his fingers while his majestic brow furrowed in stormy repose. With the fingers that weren't tapping, he absentmindedly twisted the material of his robes._

_Then it came to him._

_He leaped to his feet, raiment swirling, and checked himself over carefully. The evanescent faces woven into the cloth stirred voicelessly back at him, many weeping or screaming in silent terror._

_But nowhere did he see the one he sought._

Chapter 1: The New Kid Cometh; or, I Take A Fall

The weather was perfectly summery, as it always was in Camp Half-Blood.

Of course, there was that totally random thunderstorm that flooded everyone back into their cabins for about fifteen minutes or so, but that was just assumed to be one of the gods having a bit of a tantrum. Some of them (I'm not mentioning any names, but one in particular has the initials A-R-E-S) are pretty hot-tempered, after all. Now that I think about it, I guess we really should've been more worried, but everyone was in a great mood. The first week of camp had flown by without a hitch; nobody had been killed/maimed/seriously in trouble of any kind/lost by treachery to the enemy, things had been running smoothly up in Olympus (which means all the counselors were in a good mood, even Mr. D, who is not known for his congeniality these days), and Kronos hadn't shown up with his band of traitors to plunge us all into oblivion.

So it had been a pretty good start to the summer season, all told. So far.

I was literally running a few errands for Chiron-- just carrying messages back and forth, since he was busy working with some of the Hermes kids-- when my foot unexpectedly hit something big and softish. I half-slipped, half-tripped and pitched head over heels onto the ground. Praying nobody had noticed my undignified way of stopping, I scrambled up to get a look at what I had run over. Nothing special, just some kid lying face-down on the ground.

Hold on a second! What did I mean, nothing special?

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked sheepishly. "I'm really sorry, I didn't see you there.. do you need help?"

The smallish figure (it was wearing a green sweater and jeans at least two sizes too big for it and an orange bucket hat, so I couldn't tell whether it was a girl or boy) didn't even twitch. I wondered if it was conscious.

"Um.. well, just stay here, okay?" I only realized how stupid that sounded after it was spoken. "Uh, I guess you don't have a choice. Yeah. I'm going to go get a counselor now and---"

The prone stranger's right hand flashed up and latched onto my wrist. I yelped in surprise. Not unconscious after all, then.

"Wait," the mystery kid whispered, just loud enough to be heard. She or he had a strange voice, kind of breathy and rough at the same time. "Tell me where I am first."

I deliberated. If this kid wasn't a demigod, I probably shouldn't give them the real name of the camp. But what else could I say? I tried to frantically think of some story, but the hand tightened painfully on my arm, digging sharp ragged fingernails into my flesh and making me wince.

"Dammit, Luke, tell me _now_ or I'll rip your hand off!" rasped the voice in sudden rage.

I froze. _Luke? _The only Luke I knew was the one who had joined forces with Kronos. Was this person involved with him? The fingernails drove deeper into the tenderest part of my wrist and I gritted my teeth.

"Let _go_ of me!" I snapped, yanking the hand off. It took all the effort I had, something I wasn't expecting. That hand was slender and delicate, but it was a lot stronger than it looked. "For one thing, I'm not Luke. And if you're one of his buddies, I'm going to make you answer to Dionysius himself!"

"Dionysius?" The ears of the kid I was beginning to like less and less practically pricked up. "This must be Camp Half-Blood, then?"

Keeping mum just in case, I watched warily as the figure dragged itself into a sitting position.

I still couldn't tell exactly what gender it was, owing to the general anime-type cuteness of its face, but I could now see that this stranger was very pale, with mediumlength hair (also very pale-- platinum blond, I think it's called) that stuck out at messy angles in back and hung down on either side of its face in longer strands in front. Very big, coal-black eyes that looked like they were all pupil studied me with such intensity that I found myself sweating. They reminded me of somebody. But who?

"_You're_ not Luke."

I nodded. Not much else to say there.

"This _is_ Camp Half-Blood."

I nodded again. Considering I was wearing a bright orange shirt that said _Camp Half-Blood _on it, there wasn't much to say there either.

"I made it."

I kept myself from nodding this time. Things were getting a bit monotonous here.

"Thank the gods, I'm safe!" Black Eyes stood quickly, wobbled, then collapsed just as quickly. "Ouch."

"Uh.." I started again, hopeful to bring some sense back into the conversation. "Why don't you just stay there and I'll.. I'll get Chiron to help you. Don't move."

I ran off without waiting for a response. Today was becoming a lot more exciting than I'd planned.

By the time I'd returned with Chiron, there was another kid sitting in the middle of the field. I recognized this one, though. Leith MacTavish, one of the Aphrodite kids and a bit of an oddity among her kind because she didn't look like a blonde, size-zero Barbie princess. To be honest, with her shortish red-brown hair and impressive height she looked more like a sturdy Hephaestus girl. I didn't know her very well because she was very shy and usually tried to blend into the background, hiding behind her thick glasses.

"This is Leith," announced the other one casually, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"We've met," I replied, nodding to her. She blushed and waved halfheartedly.

" This is Chiron," I told the pale kid. "He's here to help."

Chiron bent down as far as he could to peer at the new arrival. "Hm. What's your name, young one?"

"Alexis Irvine. I'm not sure what I'm doing here, though. This wasn't exactly where I was trying to go."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. "And what destination were you intending?" Alexis looked confused.

"Where were you trying to go?" I offered helpfully. Alexis glared at me. "I know what he said. I'm just not sure where I was going."

This was getting more confusing by the minute. I was a little relieved when Chiron announced that he was taking Alexis (even _that _didn't tell me anything-- Alexis is one of those non-genderspecific-sounding names) to Mr. D to work things out. Of course, then I was stuck sitting there with Leith, who looked like she wanted to get up and run.

"So, what were you doing with Alexis anyway?" I asked at last, desperate to break the silence. Leith jumped.

"Just talking. Sort of. I didn't really learn anything more than he told you. He seems pretty nice, though."

"So he's a guy! I mean, uh.. I couldn't tell. How'd you find out? I mean.."

Right. Just keep digging yourself deeper, Percy. I sounded pretty stupid, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, I couldn't tell either, but I asked him."

How matter of fact.

"Well, I'd better be going," she said suddenly, and hastened off, probably to tell other people about what happened even though I knew Chiron probably wouldn't want it getting out too soon. Like it would really stay a secret in a camp full of middle- and high-schoolers.

I lay back in the grass and stared up at the blue. Had Alexis dropped from that sky?

I sighed. Obviously this was the beginning of another tumultous session at camp.

But then again, when had life at Camp Half-Blood _ever_ been uneventful?

**Author's Note**

Whew, the first chapter is finally done! What did you all think? Hopefully you're not asleep from the boring longness of it all. I'll work as hard as I can to get Chapter Two up ASAP (although readers who know me personally can be sure it won't happen _that_ ASAP), so hang in there. No burnt offerings necessary-- just plenty of reviews, please!

Thanks to: Becky Creighton for saying "Oooo lovely" before this even made it to the light of the PC screen, for being my Iris-message buddy (of sorts) over everything from Hermes sneakers to the all-important film (insert ominous music here) and making my day in general, o goddess of the PJO division. I love talking to you!

As well as all the other people who hang out on the Percy Jackson boards. Huggles, and I'll send you the pictures when I finish my Hermes sneakers! Maybe.

Also: corawhite, for being willing to read just about anything I write, because I'm cool that way. And so are you. Your work just keeps improving and impressing-- keep on tricking! Er, trucking.

And Snotty Chim-Chim, for being nice to me. I promise I'll start paying more attention to you!! Uwaaah

P.S.: If any of you readers are My Chemical Romance listeners, please forgive me for the title of this fic (which, for non-MCR fans, is a very bad pun on the title of one of their songs). I have this little problem with punning, as you'll soon find out..


	2. Creepyspacycruel: or, Things Get Worse

Note: All grammatical errors are intentional, and belong solely to Percy. I had to literally _force_ myself to write "me and their dad", so you'd better appreciate the in-characterization. (shivers at the horror of deliberately using poor grammar) A no-prize to anyone who gets the reference hidden in this chapter's title!

_

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_

_Chapter Two: Creepyspacycruel; or, Things Get Worse_

All the sorting-out of stuff took a lot less time than I'd guessed. About an hour after he'd left, Chiron came back with a weird expression on his face and the news that I'd been chosen to show Alexis around the camp.

"Why me?" I asked, genuinely surprised. "Aren't the camp counselors the only ones allowed to do that?"

Chiron hemmed and hawed a bit. "Well.. normally. However, Mr. D has decided it would be most.. practical for you to do it. He's already taken a shine to you, to be honest, and specially requested you. I'll be releasing you from your regular camp duties to do so, for today, at least."

I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about this, but I wasn't real thrilled. Alexis was a weird kid, to say the least. Everything about him, from that creepy voice to the oddly blanched color of his feathery hair, made me uneasy. Somehow, I didn't trust him. And I was expected to spend the entire day with him, or maybe more? Hmm. Still, I tried to make the best of it. I'd only known him for a short time, anyway.

My uneasiness wasn't exactly assuaged by Alexis sneaking up behind me a few minutes later and looping his arms over my shoulders. I spazzed out and did a kind of thrashy dance out of his grasp, thinking he was about to strangle me.

"Hi," he said, completely unfazed. "Percy, right?"

"Guh," I replied, massaging a tendon in my shoulder that got pulled in the throes of my thrashy dance. "Yeah. Um. Hi. That didn't take long. So... why don't we start with the cabins?"

Alexis had no objections, so I walked him around the cabin area, talking about the various buildings and which gods they were built in honor of. I must admit he was a well-behaved tour group, mostly trailing behind me and looking around in fascination without asking too many questions. It was only after we reached the crowded Hermes cabin (where I assumed he'd be staying, since he couldn't possibly have been claimed this quickly) that there were any problems. They showed up with a vengenance, though.

The first little problems came in the form of two ironically non-little Ares kids, wandering around looking for trouble. Naturally, they spotted me immediately and came loping over. Since me and their dad don't get on so well (note the huge understatement), all the Ares kids have made me their collective target. Lucky me.

"Hey, Jackson," grunted Ares Dude. "Whaddaya doing here? Don't you have some big-shot quest to go on or whatever?"

"Not right now," I mumbled, trying to slide past with my back against the cabin wall. I really didn't want to deal with any more freaks than absolutely necessary. After all, I already had one following me around. "Scuse me, I got a special order to show this new kid around."

I knew it was a mistake the moment I opened my mouth.

"Ooo," mocked Ares Girl. One of Clarisse's cronies, I think. All Ares kids looked alike to me: mean. "Prissy has _special_ orders. Aren't _we_ the big man? I bet this is your hardest quest _e-ver_."

"It's not a quest." I felt my face burning. "Can I just get by, please?"

"Oh, I don't know about that." All of a sudden, Ares Girl's meaty hand was crushing my wrist. I winced at the aggravation of the earlier bruises. "I don't think you can handle the _pressure_." She leered as her hulking pal sniggered. It was probably the cleverest joke he'd ever heard. I tried to pull away. No luck.

As it turned out, I didn't need to. Ares Girl let go on her own with a strangled yelp. I looked up and saw Alexis standing behind her with his fingers curled around her square neck. When had he darted from behind me? And how had I failed to notice just how pointy and sharp-looking his nails were?

"That's not a very nice way to treat a son of Poseidon." His voice sounded like it had when I'd first encountered him: lower and raspier, more sinister. I shivered despite myself. "Don't you think you should apologize?"

I had to grudgingly admire the girl's guts. "Why should I?" she demanded, even though there was a faint tremor in her voice. "He doesn't care what I do to him, he's just a--"

A large spiderweb crack appeared in the wall of the Hermes cabin about a centimeter away from her nose. It took me longer than I expected to realize it'd been left by Alexis's fist.

"Care to finish that sentence? Or do you want to live a while longer?"

Ares guy, who'd been standing in a shocked daze for the last few paragraphs or so, suddenly snapped into action like somebody'd flicked the panic switch on his brain.

"Nobody effs around with my sister like that!" he roared, looming over us in a definitely menacing manner. Amazingly, Alexis looked unimpressed. I can't say I shared his emotions. "Let go of her right now, you runty punk! Hey, Prissy, call off your girlfriend or I'll..."

His threat trickled off as Alexis's right sneaker slammed into his stomach. He barely had time to hit the grass before the rest of Alexis followed, yanking the frozen sister with him as he pinned his much larger opponent onto the ground.

"I don't think we've met," he breathed, reminding me forcibly of those psycho little kids in horror movies. "How rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Alexis Irvine, and this is my friend Mr. Fist."

I cringed, as much at the cliched line at what was about to happen, but I surprised myself by grabbing Alexis's balled-up hand as he drew it back to strike. It was actually a pretty small hand, and I wondered briefly how it could've laid a crack into the solid cabin.

"Alexis, that's enough." My voice came out a lot more authoritative than I expected, but it died when he swung his head around to glare at me. His eyes looked different-- wilder and almost feral-- and the pointy-toothed grin pasted across his pale face looked insane and out of place. The expression faded quickly when he recognized me, so quickly that I wondered if I'd imagined it.

"Hi, Percy!" he chirped, as if I'd just showed up. "I'm sorry, was I being too forward? These aren't your friends, are they by any chance?"

"No, but I don't think you needed to go that far," I muttered, casting a wary glance at the pair on the ground. They appeared to be playing dead, but I didn't feel like hanging around any longer than necessary. After all, someone would be showing up to investigate soon, and my life was complicated enough already.

_Complicated and growing_, I thought as I escorted the now vaguely cheerful Alexis hanging on my arm off the area. This mysterious new camper was freaking me out more and more. I wondered if I should tell Chiron about this incident; after all, the guy was starting to look mentally unstable and dangerous at that, but at the same time I didn't want Chiron to think I couldn't handle taking one kid on a tour.

Alexis was wearing a short-sleeved shirt like mine now, and as his arms wrapped around mine, I noticed that his skin wasn't warm like it should've been, especially after walking around outside in the hot sun and all that physical exertion. Instead, it was as cold as if he'd been standing in a freezer.

I shivered again-- and not just from the cold hands on my bare skin.

Who_ was_ Alexis Irvine, anyway?

**

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Author's Note:**

Whew! That was a bit of a ride, wasn't it? Hope this chapter was worth the wait! I wrote 3/4ths of it all in one day, which is pretty good for me (usually my writing is all spread out over time). Uhh... I guess I don't have much to say today, except that I hope you all stay with me through this painfully slow fic even in its darkest moments (what does _that_ mean?!)

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Thanks:

Becky Creighton, as before. By the way, the shoes are black and white with two white stripes on either side but no round star patch (as they're not real Converses), and I'm planning on making the wings out of white vinyl.

Theleafylord, whom I should've included before. Please pardon my complete blankout, and see the shoes note above.

vampireking, for adding me both to your Favorite Stories list AND your Favorite Authors list. I feel so loved.. (sniffles with gratitude)

And... er.. the other people who reviewed on my story. Why can't I remember your names?! Please accept my apology and genuine gratitude, anyway.

Luke: Don't be stupid! Be a smarty! Come and join the Titan's a--

Me: (kicks him) Wrong fic, stupid.


	3. Lexy's Dad: or, Things Get Even Worse

Disclaimer: As usual, I own none of these people except for Alexis. No, you can't have him, but you may give him as many cookies as you want. Again, all grammatical typos are purely for feel.

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_Chapter 3: Lexy's Dad; or, Things Get Even Worse_

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There was no room in the Hermes cabin as usual, so no matter how much I begged, Alexis was dumped into the Poseidon cabin with me and Tyson. 

Tyson didn't care-- he was enthralled with our new roommate, asking an endless stream of questions like "Why your hair white?" and otherwise torturing Alexis, who didn't seem to mind in the least. In fact, the two were soon thick as thieves, sitting in the corner and giggling at some private joke.

It creeped me out to say the least, but it was kind of refreshing to see someone who didn't treat Tyson like dirt, so I didn't really want to do anything about it. I also felt a little irresponsible about letting Tyson play with an unstable lunatic, but what could I do?

I did wish I could do _something_ about the situation when the news came back that they couldn't get us any bunks on such short notice, so he'd have to share with one of us. I think Mr. D was just being a jerk as usual, since any decent camp counselor who heard about the earlier fracas (which he had to have done) would have separated us immediately. Of course, there wasn't exactly anywhere to put him, but I wasn't exactly wild about sleeping in the same bed with someone who might suddenly take it to strangle me in my sleep so they could have the rest of the blanket.

Once bedtime rolled around, however, it was actually not the stressful ordeal I'd been dreading. Alexis dropped off the minute his head hit the pillow (around 7 pm-- not surprising, I guess, considering the day he had) and Tyson sat next to my bed watching him after we got back from dinner.

"Alexis is pretty," he commented cheerfully when I asked him what he was doing. Mentally, I choked and wheezed, gagging on my own spit.

"Sure is, big guy. Uh, why don't you turn in too? Tomorrow's a big day, after all."

I had no idea how true those words were going to be. If I had, I'd probably be on the bus back home right now.

* * *

Rudely is not the way I like to be awakened, but that's what I got that night (or rather morning) at about 4 or 5 am. 

Alexis was sitting up in bed, screaming like a banshee and convulsing like a rubber band. I resisted the urge to scream back at him and, showing impressive restraint under the circumstances, shook him by the shoulder. He whipped around and started scratching at me with ragged nails, shrieking what sounded like total gibberish: _"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn! Yog-Sothoth, Yog-Sothoth!" _

His voice sounded different again: deeper and muddier, more like a grown man's, with a nasty undertone that grated on the bones of my spine like a frozen nail file. I winced as one of his wild swings found its mark, leaving a shallow gash that burned like someone had slapped it with rubbing alcohol._  
_

Holding him back was a lot harder than it should have been. His thin limbs were flailing with such unnatural force that I was afraid he was going to hurt himself, but I started worrying about myself again when I noticed the horrific red glow in his eyes: as if they were lit from within.

I was on the losing hand from the beginning, and was flagging fast when Alexis froze in midthrottle, blinked, and collapsed onto my chest. I glanced behind him in confusion. Tyson was standing there with one bricklike hand outstretched.

"Sorry, Percy," he mumbled, shamefaced. "Was trying to help. Was I bad?"

"No. Definitely not. Thanks, dude." I pushed Alexis onto the floor and stood up, only to collide with something that crackled and buzzed like an electrical shock as my head hit it. Stumbling backwards, I gaped at the sight that had just materialized...

...spinning above Alexis' unconsious form, the sign of Hades.

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**A/N: **Right, people. I did a little revising, since last night's version was pretty rushed. Sorry about that. First person to identify the source of the nonsense Alexis is spouting gets a pretend cookie. 


	4. Poseidon Gets An Honorary Son

**Author's Note:** Wow, did this ever take a long time. I've been a bit caught up in other things... like Algebra. Ewwww. XX In any case, I hope all you readers won't give up on me. I'll _**try**_ to update more often when the summer is here.. wish me luck... btw, I have inserted some ANs in the body of the story this time. My apologies for that and, in advance, for the possibly inferior quality of this chapter. (Although anything would be better than the extra mini-chapter omake thingy. I might just get rid of that..)

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Chapter Three: Poseidon Gets An Honorary Son

The sun beat down on Camp Half-Blood. It was a beautiful day, somewhat spoiled by the fact that I had spent every minute of it so far fighting to stay awake.

The night/morning before had been a train wreck. After the whole knocking-out-Alexis, Alexis-being-claimed-by-_Hades_ thing, Tyson had run for help and come back with Chiron and a few yawning satyrs. Chiron had taken one look at the situation and hauled Alexis away, telling us not to worry and to get some sleep. You can imagine how well _that_ worked.

"Percy. Hey, Percy. _Perrrrcyyyyyy_." A hand waved in front of my face.

"Whawhowhat!" I jumped. Annabeth was standing there with a look like she'd been standing there for a while.

"Percy, what's your problem?" she demanded. I tried to explain last night's events to her. It probably didn't make much sense, but she got the gist.

"You're _kidding_. And he _attacked_ you?" Annabeth was incredulous. "But how and _why_ is he here? Hades isn't supposed to have any living children..."

"Maybe he was under a spell, like Thalia?" I suggested. Annabeth looked thoughtful.

"I suppose that's possible.. I'd never heard of any other kids of the Big Three being enchanted, but that doesn't mean it never happened. I should look into it."

"Yeah. You should," I agreed. "Let's eat first, though. I need some energy."

* * *

Tyson and I yawned all through breakfast. When everyone'd finished, Chiron himself stood up to make an announcement, and I noticed Mr. D was absent. Considering he was the camp director, this was unusual to say the least. I wondered if it had anything to do with Alexis. 

"May I have your attention, please." The crowd fell mostly silent. "We have a new camper with us, Alexis Irvine." With a start, I noticed that Alexis stood next to Chiron at the head table.

Chiron paused, looking uneasy, before continuing, "Alexis is a child of Hades."

Instantly the entire place was in an uproar of questions, exclamations and whispering. Alexis turned red and Chiron motioned ineffectually for quite. Finally, Clarisse yelled, "Shut up!" from the Ares table and the loud talkers abated. Chiron, looking startled, nodded to her.

"Thank you. As I was saying, Alexis here is a child of Hades, but as you know, we have no cabin for Hades here. I need someone to volunteer their cabin space to share."

This time, the silence was absolute. Except for one or two chairs at the Ares table. I saw with a jolt that Clarisse and a few members of her posse were whispering together, and I heard a snippet of their conversation.

"But Clarisse! What do you want the little shrimp in our cabin for? He's freaky-looking!"

"No buts!" snapped Clarisse. "Think about it! Hades is one of the _Big Three_. Do you really wanna pass up an opportunity to have one of _them_ down with us? It would mean major glory and status for all of Ares' children!"

That chilled me. Alexis falling in with the Ares gang definitely sounded like trouble. Immediately I stood up, shooting my hand into the air. Clarisse and her pals threw me dirty looks, like maybe they knew I'd been eavesdropping. I pretended not to notice.

Tyson, apparently guessing that if our whole cabin (read: both of us) volunteered it would look better, raised his hand as well. It reached as high as mine even though he hadn't stood up.

Clarisse and her goons shot more daggers at me, but it was too late. Alexis was already running down from table twelve with a grin on his face like nothing had happened, and Cabin Three had a new occupant.

* * *

I figured Annabeth would chew me out for doing something so risky. I wasn't disappointed. 

"Percy, he tried to kill you and now you're taking him back? That's completely irrational!"

"Can you not make him sound like a crazy ex, please?" I replied exasperatedly. "Besides, it was that or let the Ares guys get their paws on him."

I told her what I'd heard Clarisse say. She backed down a little. Only a little.

"Well, you and Tyson are just going to have to be extra careful," she began. I don't like to say it, but Annabeth _can_ come off a little prissily sometimes.

Figuring I was in for a Wise Girl patented lecture, I spaced a little and watched Tyson paddle in the lake with the naiads. They seemed to be teaching Alexis how to swim. He wasn't doing very well, and the naiads were fawning over him with isn't-he-precious looks.

Somehow, it didn't seem real that this tiny, almost albino kid could be the son of the Underworld's king. (Did that make Alexis a prince? I kind of hoped not.)

Nothing about Alexis seemed very real, once I thought about it. From the way I'd run into him (pretty literally) to the way he... _wisped_, for lack of a better description, to his abrupt personality switches, his whole being just seemed like some psycho vampire-possessed kid from a cartoon or something.

* * *

A/N: Heh heh. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Even Percy has pointed out the clear sign that I read too much manga..

* * *

Annabeth made another Earth-to-Percy wave. "If you're that tired, you should go lay down and take a nap or something. I can keep an eye on Tyson for you." 

I shook my head. "I'm not that sleepy anymore, but thanks. I was just thinking about how weird this all is."

Annabeth nodded. She looked oddly grim. "Me too. It's so strange, it seems like something out of a story, right? Almost like it has a scriptwriter or something." (A/N: Darn, is it that obvious? xD) I glanced up, unnerved by her tone.

"Annabeth, what are you saying? You think someone planned this out?"

"Think about it, Percy! People who aren't even supposed to be alive don't just turn up! And didn't you say that when Alexis first showed up he mentioned Luke's name?"

I considered. Now that she'd mentioned it, I'd almost forgotten that part, but suddenly it seemed so obvious I could have kicked myself. _Why hadn't __**I **__thought of that?_

"So.. you think he's working with Luke, or what?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe he's being manipulated. Either way, we'd better all keep an eye on him. Maybe Leith, too."

"What, tell her to keep an eye on him, or keep an eye on _her_?"

"Possibly both." Annabeth got up, presumably to go look for Leith, and left me a little confused (which, to be honest, isn't that unusual), more than a little freaked (again, nothing new) and rather clammy. Which, truthfully, had more to do with the weather than anything. I was actually grateful when one of the naiads yanked me into the pond. But as we all splashed-- Tyson, Alexis, the naiads and me-- I caught Alexis's eye.

He was smiling, pleased with himself for learning so quickly, and looked as excited as any little kid. But now that I knew what he was, and the other side of his personality... the bizarrely idyllic scene chilled me. I abruptly climbed out of the water, my clothes dripping, and felt the dampness grow cold on my back.

_A child of Hades._ What did this mean for us? For me-- my friends-- all of Camp Half-Blood. Maybe the rest of the world, too.

What lay ahead for all of us?

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A/N: Whew! That took a long time to type. Especially owing to the fact that every time I typed Alexis's name it came out ALexis, so I had to go back and fix it. Did you notice that Leith was mentioned for the first time since the first chapter? She was supposed to be a more major character, but kinda got shoved to the sidelines. Oops! Well, she'll be getting a bigger role soon. 

Grr to all those non-Percyish fancy words I used but can't be buggered to go back and excise.. see, there's another one! Excise!

Also, congrats to the reader who guessed what the freaky nonsense Alexis was speaking in the previous real chapter meant. Good on you! Unfortunately, you left neither your username nor email, so I can't contact you to give you your no-prize. Oh well. --; There's a reason I jacked that certain passage from H.P. Lovecraft's short story _The Call of Cthulhu_, which will become apparent later as more about Lexy's past is revealed. Look forward to it! (BTW, you should also read the aforementioned story. It's really quite good.)

Thanks to ALL my reviewers, including you reading this right now, because of course you're going to leave a review right now, right? Riiiiiiight--?


	5. Omake: or, Bonus

Me: Sorry everyone, it might be a while before I get to update this story. My father has gotten obsessed with YouTube and is monopolizing the family comp. Also, I'm not supposed to use my laptop for anything but homework, so I'm doing this a bit on the lowdown.. sorry…

Annabeth: But what about me? You haven't gotten to me yet.

Me: I'm sorry! I've got about a hundred other projects I need to be working on so far, including a freaking doijinshi for PetalWolf that hasn't gotten past the rough sketch stage, _and_ I have homework! I'm doing homework right _now!_

Leith: Ano... what about me?

Me: You'll be in the next chapter, I promise! I have big plans for you--

_(deathly chill spreads over room)_

Alexis: **...what about me?**

Everyone: Aaaaagh! Quick, write something!

Me: (passed out from shock and stress) ...

* * *

I hope you enjoyed that, cuz that may be all you hear of me for awhile..


	6. Fine We Aren't!: or, I Finally Freak Out

Finally…(cough) My apologies. This has taken forever. And no, I haven't finished reading The Titan's Curse yet. Gahh. Today's title is from "Shine We Are!", a song by J-pop darling BoA, a Korean singer who's really popular in Japan. And she sings in Japanese. Go figure.

**Fine We Aren't!; or, I Fail to Befriend Another Head Case**

The rest of the week was fairly frustrating. I tried my best to strike up a conversation with Leith, but every time I got anywhere near her with obvious intentions of talking to her she turned red and scuttled away. But then every time I turned around it seemed like she was there, several steps behind me, trying her best to be inconspicuous. A for effort, anyway. Although it did seem like I saw her following me more often when Alexis was around, she never made any effort to explain herself or talk to us.

Alexis was his own problem or five. He'd only been here a matter of days, and each one had brought some kind of outburst. Most times it was fights—although lots were self-provoked, there was always some bonehead wanting to prove himself against the son of Hades—but once in a while, like every three days, it would be something really spectacular.

Once, for instance, I caught him dismembering a pigeon. There was feathery bloodstained grass all around, and Alexis himself was smudged sticky and red—especially around the face, which I really didn't want to think about. I kind of lost it then and slapped him so hard that my fingers swiped pale stripes through the streaks of blood. He just blinked like he was coming out of a trance, and didn't seem to understand what he'd done or why I was yelling at him.

That was the point at which I realized something was seriously wrong—so serious that I doubted even Annabeth could do any good. I took him straight to Chiron.

Chiron listened with complete gravity. When I'd finished my rant with "It's like he's two different people!" he nodded sagely and replied: "You know, Percy, you may just have something there."

I must have given him a pretty nonplussed look, because he smiled. "Annabeth hasn't told you any of her findings?"

Annabeth had barely spoken to me for the last week or so; she'd been holed up in the library ever since the conversation by the lake. I shook my head.

Chiron turned to Alexis, who'd been sitting blood-soaked and dejected ever since I'd dragged him here in silence.

"Alexis, what do you remember from before you came here?"

The change that came over Alexis was sudden and startling. He shrunk even further into his seat, beginning to shiver.

"I don't know. I don't know. I was cold there. It was stifling and I couldn't move. They were all around."

"Whom?" Chiron prompted gently.

"The others who had to stay there. They were cruel, but they didn't dare hurt me." He smirked. "I had Father, after all."

_Father_. Hades. I shivered too, despite the heat.

"You were being kept somewhere? Not living with your human parent?"

Alexis hugged his knees, dropping his eyes. "Mother's dead. I don't know what happened to the others. They're all old now. They won't remember me. They'd be afraid of me because I still look the same if they did remember me."

He sounded like he was reciting from a list. "What do you mean?" I asked gently. I still wasn't happy with him, but he looked so helpless that my anger was starting to melt a little.

"It's not the same time as when Father took me. He said so."

By now I was thoroughly confused and wished Annabeth was there to explain. Chiron seemed to be getting it, though, or at least putting guesses together.

"And who was 'he'?" Chiron questioned. I broke in. "Remember when I found him? He mentioned Luke. Maybe that's who he's talking about?"

Chiron nodded. "An astute guess, Percy. Alexis, please tell us more about your previous residence."

Alexis frowned. "Well. Father said it was somewhere safe where I couldn't cause any harm and the monsters wouldn't come after me any more. It was all sort of dark and blankety and foggy, and I felt sort of half-asleep all the time. There were others there, but their presences felt different. They weren't as real. They weren't good people, either. They didn't like being there, so they tormented me because I wasn't supposed to be there."

"Why?" I asked, fascinated if still in the dark.

Alexis grinned through the drying crimson tears. "Because they were dead and I wasn't."

A small cloud passed over the sun.

A/N: Forgive me, Becky… a longer chapter next time! Hold me to it!

Thanks to my very patient readers and reviewers. I hope you reading right now are among their number. If not, why not join them right now? I respond to all the reviews that are respondable, so if you want feedback on your feedback, please leave contact information! Some of my most wonderful reviews have been unsigned, and it always disappoints me. I might not get many stellar ones on **this**, though. The quality is fairly low. Except for the last two sentences.


	7. Snow White Psycho: or, I Learn Something

No, it's not a new chapter, it's just a rewrite of the most recent one. Sorry.

Today's title gleaned from: "Snow White Queen" by Evanescence. Directly continued from last chapter.

(spazzes out) MUST. READ. TITAN'S CURSE. Somebody hand me a copy through the PC screen, there's a good chap/chapess. (gropes about)

**

* * *

**

Chiron turned to me. "There you have it, Percy. Hades has been hiding Alexis in his realm until now. Annabeth and I have been doing a little research, and we're both of the opinion that after World War I Hades felt that it was no longer safe for his remaining offspring anywhere but with himself."

I'll admit, it sounded pretty out there. "So Alexis was born around that time? He should be an old man by now, shouldn't he?"

"Not necessarily. Time has no meaning to the Lord of the Dead."

"Oh, yeah. That's true." I glanced at Alexis, now sitting upright with that creepy smirk still hanging on his face. It was like seeing him in a new light. "But what about the multiple-personality thing? What's that got to do with anything?"

Chiron shrugged. Watching him do this is always pretty impressive. "That hasn't been determined yet. It could be that his— disorder— was already in place when his father called him down… then again, staying long in the Underworld before the destined time of arrival must surely have some notable effects on a half-mortal mind."

I shuddered, imagining a younger Alexis wandering alone through the silent Asphodel Fields, watching the gloomy conveyor-belt line of souls lining up to meet their fate, or even peering wide-eyed into the Valley of Punishment. Growing up there must have been hell—no pun intended.

"Okay. So. What's this mean? I mean, it answers a few things, but how am I going to deal with him? We have to keep him safe, right? What if Hades gets mad and thinks we kidnapped him or something? I mean, it wouldn't be the first time something of his got stolen from the Underworld."

Chiron shook his head, but I could see the doubt in his eyes. That's never reassuring. "We don't know for now. Mr. D and I are being called to a conference tonight to discuss that very subject."

"You're leaving? Both of you?" I wasn't pleased. Being a Big Three child myself, I was familiar with monster ambushes even within the perimeters of Half-Blood Hill, and it didn't feel that safe without any major grownups to keep things in hand. Now I'm not that fond of Mr. D, but he _is_ the head honcho around here and has plenty of authority in that kind of stuff. "Are we going to be okay here?"

He smiled. "It's only for a few hours, Percy. We should be back by lunchtime tomorrow at the absolute latest. It's unlikely that there will be any attacks on the Hill in that period of time. Just try to keep him inside and out of fights, at least."

I got the feeling he was trying to make me feel better, but I took it anyway. "I'll try, sir."

* * *

Alexis and I both got seen off with pats on the backs. The moment we were outside in the darkening and bugs, Alexis latched onto my arm again. "Um, why do you keep doing that? It's kind of awkward." I careened sideways, trying to straighten up under his pull.

This didn't seem to sit well. His reply was curt, delivered with a glower up through transparent lashes. "Dunno. Because I want to."

I grinned. Despite his real age, Alexis was actually kind of immature sometimes when he wasn't stomping people's noses flat. Maybe I was just feeling sympathetic toward him after hearing his story, but it was almost cute.

"Okay. Why do you want to? Just wondering."

He actually thought about it for a few moments. "I just like the warmth."

Clueless moment alert. "Huh?"

He looked as if the fact that I hadn't immediately grasped his meaning was ridiculous. "Well, it was cold with Father, right? And I couldn't touch anyone. They just went straight through."

"Okay, I'll give you that, but what… oh!" I felt dim. "So you're happy to be able to touch real people, right?"

"Mhm. There were lots of _those_ people there, but I felt lonely anyway, I guess because I got tired of not being able to feel any warmth or heartbeat except mine. So I'm trying to get as much living-people time in as I can."

The simplicity of his statement made perfect sense, even though I'd never considered the possibility of that situation. I found myself wondering what it would be like. When I'd been to the Underworld, the experience hadn't exactly been enjoyable, but at least Annabeth and Grover were there with me. I hadn't been the only living, breathing _Homo sapiens_ for miles in any direction. And I'd only been there for a short time. What must have gone through his head, trapped there for decades?

Something about his last sentence bothered me. _"I'm trying to get as much living-people time in as I can."_

"Alexis, what do you mean by that? As much time as you can?"

All the lingering traces of what almost looked like contentedness had faded from his pale face. "I don't know how long I have here."

"I still don't—" A horrible thought occurred to me. "Wait-- you're not saying you're going to _die,_ are you?" After all, even though he looked like a little kid, in the mortal world he was supposed to be an old man by now. What if coming back to the living world had some kind of awful side effects? What if it all caught up with him at once? I had sickening images of Alexis shriveling into dust and blowing away before my eyes. _Okay, so he wasn't supposed to be __that__ old,_ I reminded myself. But still. You never know what might happen.

Alexis shook his head. "I don't know. Anything could happen. Father will probably take me away again, or Luke might come for me. They might throw me out after the meeting."

"Mr. D and Chiron? They wouldn't throw you out!" (Although I wasn't entirely sure about Mr. D, I figured he'd want to keep the damages to a minimum just so he wouldn't have to deal with inquiries and p.o.'d gods.) "And I don't know what Luke has to do with any of this, but I'm not going to let him get to you, okay?"

Alexis dropped my arm. "Why?"

I seemed to spend a lot of time being nonplussed these days. "Elaborate, please?"

"Why should you risk yourself protecting me? You don't really know me. I've caused nothing but trouble for you. I know—" he twitched. "I've not… been right since I was taken away from Father. I'm dangerous. What's there to care about or bother with?"

Nonplussed stage over. Now I was just shocked.

"Alexis! Why _shouldn't_ I? For one thing, you're my responsibility. Chiron said so. I'm not about to let anyone down on that, especially you. For another thing, you're basically my cousin, and you're supposed to watch out for family, right?" I gave him a smile. He gave me a blank look, then attempted to return it. Mentally I pulled my own grimace. We would have to work on the smiling thing later. "Also, I don't exactly want to get in trouble with your dad, besides the fact that Luke and I aren't exactly… friends and I'm not letting him get any more from than absolutely necessary. And anyway… we're _heroes_, Alexis. We do good things. It's what we're supposed to do. Mostly."

Seeing his small, cold face glow was enough reward for me. Really, it wasn't that hard to be fond of him. Of course, I knew that in a day or two I'd probably have to remind myself of that, but for now it was good enough.

"So don't worry too much, okay?" I patted him. "Annabeth, Thalia and the others will be looking after you, too."

Alexis smiled, shakily and small. "It's been a long time since anyone talked about 'looking after me'. Back when… before all this, I used to be the one looking after the baby and my younger siblings."

"Really? You had little brothers and sisters? You must have been pretty young yourself, though, right?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I don't know what it's like now, but I was considered old enough to stay home by myself. I was in high school, after all."

I frowned. "High school? Did you skip a bunch of grades or what?" Another head shake. "No? But that would mean…"

He gave me a fishy look. "I'm fifteen. Couldn't you tell?"

Now, I'd like to mention at this point that I took this calmly. I'd _like_ to, but this is a truthful narrative, so I have to say instead that I freaked out.

"_Fifteen? _But you—that's older than—_you're_ older than _me_? No _way_!"

The fishy look was rotting; that is to say, it was turning nastier by the second. "Ye-es. I'm older than you. You couldn't tell, could you."

"Of course not! You're tiny!" My slow brain managed to interpret the dirty look about five words too late. "I mean—you are a bit—no, I mean just a little—uh… you look younger."

He shrugged, although not looking a lot happier. "I got that even when I lived with my mother. It wasn't quite as… extreme, though. For one thing, I think I _was_ younger then."

"So being dead stunted your growth?"

For a second, Alexis looked like he was either going to throttle me or correct me. Then he burst out laughing. It was the first time I'd ever heard him laugh, and it was weirdly infectious, like a little kid's. (I was glad he didn't hear that last bit.) It caught me by surprise, and I started laughing too.  
We sat on the ground in the blue dusky light giggling like crazy freaks—kind of appropriate, maybe—as everyone walked around us with weird looks on their way to dinner. There went another bit of my reputation. Not that I really minded. It was just cool seeing Little Mister Emotionless lose it in a good way for once. Kind of like seeing Tyson smile; it made me feel warm and proud in a way.

I was really starting to feel like friends with this guy. Don't say it; I know it was stupid to let myself get attached to someone who might beat me up tomorrow and run back to Luke and crazy to even think about letting my guard down, but the long and short of it is that… I can't think of any other way to put this, but I felt bad for him.

This kid had lived through more than I could ever imagine, and yet he was still making an effort to trust me. I don't know how I would have held up under those circumstances, but I have the feeling Alexis got off easy with multiple personality disorder or whatever it is he's got going on.

After we could breathe again I asked him about his family. He was happy to respond, and I started to get an idea of what his life had been before WWII ended. Weirdly enough, it started to remind me a little of myself: taking crap every day from the intolerant jerkwads of the world (I guess some things never change) and getting labeled as a troublemaker when the personal crap meter overloaded, barely dragging through school when all the lessons looked like they were printed on a drunken press, single mom struggling to keep making ends meet… actually, it was beginning to sound a lot like my life before three summers ago.

I was so busy mulling this over that I didn't notice Alexis staring at me. Apparently, he'd asked me a question like five minutes ago.

"Oh, sorry! What'd you say?"

He waved it off. "Just thinking out loud." But there was a darkening in his eyes that I didn't like the looks of.

"No. Tell me. What's wrong?"

Alexis opened his mouth as if to deny it again, then fell back into uneasy silence. It didn't last; finally he came grudgingly out with it, not meeting my eyes.

"Percy… what do you think will happen tomorrow?"

"Huh? Well, there's archery practice for--"

"No. I mean with us. With _me_." He turned away. "Percy? I'm scared."

I began to say something comforting then stopped. There was no way to tell for sure, I wasn't the Oracle—and I didn't want to end up lying to him.

"So am I. Just being honest."

Oddly, this seemed to put him at ease. He grinned that mini-sharky smile. "So at least we're both on the same page."

"Guess that's good enough for now. Hey, it's dark! We better go eat before dinnertime's over."

I trailed him behind me as we ran, though not for long. For a shrimpy kid whose muscles should have atrophied thirty years ago, Alexis sure is fast.

* * *

The next day I was flipping idly through some of Annabeth's giant pile of research materials (I was supposed to be digging her out from within it; she hadn't been visible since last morning) when an open name book caught my eye. Apparently, one of the meanings for "Irvine" is "sea-friend".  
Somehow I wasn't as surprised as I should have been. Maybe there really are no coincidences in this world.

* * *

A/N:

I re-released this chapter after fixing a little section of dialogue that didn't seem to fit. Thanks to the kid from Colorado who helped me make up my mind. (smacks self) Just realized that if Alexis is from the 40s then he should sound like it, but I don't really want to go there. Having enough Lexis issues as it is. Speaking of Alexis' issues, there should be a bit of explanation coming soon… and Leith! Does anyone remember Leith?

Speaking of Alexis' other issues (cough vertically-challenged cough), that was fun to write and probably my favorite part. I blame it on personal experience and Edward Elric.

Must read TC… must read TC… help, I'm beginning to miss out…

And on that note, this fic **may** be on hiatus until I get my copy! (head to desk) I need to get back to my Charlie Bone fic anyway…


	8. Prelude HalfPint

Observe today's title: a là AFI... it's a really putrid pun, too, which helps. Finally, Thalia shows up! And finally, I've read Titan's Curse, or rather listened to it via Listening Library. I'm so proud of myself. This would be a good time to let you all know that I came up with this way before I read the book, just so you know I'm not copying anything. Also, please note my changes to the summary.

* * *

Prelude ½-Pint; or, Just When Everything Was Going So Well 

Early summer-morning light was glowing across the bed as I drifted out of sleep. Alexis was snoozing peacefully next to me, white face illuminated and whiter hair glittering on the pillow. I finally felt safe sleeping in the same room as he did, even though understanding him more closely didn't change the fact that I'd woken up earlier on the floor with my neck at an unnatural angle. I don't think he pushed me out on purpose, though. For one thing, I have it on good authority that I thrash around a lot if I've had sugar before going to sleep, and for another he just tends to take over the bed. It's probably an unconscious reaction to not having to share a bed with all his siblings in a poky little shack or something. I wonder if he slept at all when he was with Hades?

Anyway. Getting off topic there. Basically, after yesterday's talk I was a lot more confident about at least dealing directly with him, even though he couldn't tell me much about his little problem. Know your enemy, right? I wasn't so confident about what might happen in the future, but now that we were friends of a sort it was pretty much established that we wouldn't kill each other. Pretty much.  
Besides, Chiron and Mr. D weren't going to be gone for _that_ long. Nothing bad had happened so far.

I swear I thought everything was going to be okay.

Pretty stupid of me, huh?

* * *

"He's _what?_"

I cringed. Thalia was starting to throw off sparks again. "He's—whoa, calm down—um, can you please put that spear down now—he's Hades' kid and…"

"I _heard_ you, smart one, but you don't expect me to _believe_ that, do you?" She furrowed her brow at me. "I mean, everyone knows that Hades hasn't had any kids for decades. He's the only one of the Big Three who actually honored the pact."

"Well, that's true, but Alexis's actually—"

A shout from the other side of the cabin sent me hurtling around the corner in paranoia. It turned out to be Leith, getting picked on by a bunch of the snottier Aphrodite girls. They were circling her like vultures in Abercrombie tees and Chanel flats, sneering and every so often plucking at her clothes or hair with manicured talons. "You don't _really_ mean you _actually_ _like_ these pants? (yanking at the fabric harder than necessary) I mean, this style has been out of fashion for _months_! And you should totally do something about this hair! ( throwing her hair into her face) It's so limp and blah. This hair! You're so never going to get the boys looking like this! Honey, you're making us all look _bad_."

I felt awful seeing it, like when little kids get a hold of a small animal and start swinging it by its tail or shaking it around. Actually, it made me pretty mad. Luckily we weren't close to any big water sources, or the Fashion Police would've been a sorry bunch of drenched beauty queens. Thalia had no such limitations, but she hadn't seemed to notice. I was about to alert her when motion and high-pitched screams dragged my attention back to the scene.

Leith was running, swinging the spear she'd been practicing with behind her as the other Aphrodite campers scattered. A whole brood of fur-covered creatures with drooping ears and sharp needlelike teeth were chasing them, scampering faster than I would ever have given them credit for and whipping their stumpy from side to side. It was the last thing I expected to see--

_"Puppies?"_

Thalia's jaw dropped at the same time mine did.

"What are_ those_ doing there?" she demanded, then paused as the ground bubbled up in front of us and another handful of little mutts clambered over our feet. "Oh."

"Uh, Thalia?" I said, pointing to the dogs chasing Leith and the girls. They were beginning to grow, stretching and warping as they ran into huge slavering giants the size of Great Danes on major steroids. She nodded, and lightning cracked above the hellhounds' heads. They screeched to a halt, whining and swiping at their sensitive ears.

I knew the pause was only temporary. "Get inside!" I screamed at the Aphrodite group and held my hand out to catch Leith's spear, which she tossed to me as she ran for the safety of the cabin.

The hellhounds had recovered and were now charging in a wall toward us, the only demigods left in the immediate area. Aegis spiraled out onto Thalia's arm, and I uncapped Riptide, ready for battle.

As it turned out, neither of us had to move a muscle. Before the hellhounds were even ten feet away from us, a thick brown bar flashed across my sight. The next thing I knew, the hounds were trapped underneath the trunk of a large tree, howling and slavering.

Somehow I figured that tree hadn't just fallen down at a really convenient moment. And even though there could have been any number of reasons, I also figured I knew the cause of this one.

"Thanks, Alexis," I called to the other end of the trunk. You-know-who was standing there holding the roots, grinning like a maniac as usual.

"No problem, kid!" he yelled back. "This won't take long!"

_Kid?_ Since when did Alexis call me _kid_? I was still wondering about that when the tree trunk crashed down again. And again. Alexis was bludgeoning the keening hounds to death, and as much as I didn't feel like getting my throat ripped out or exposing the others to danger, the scene still made me nauseous.

Almost forgetting to cap Riptide, I ran over to him, grabbing his wrists and pulling his hands off the wood as the hellhounds simultaneously collapsed into dust.

"Hey! That's enough!"

My voice died off as the changes in him became apparent. The look on his face I'd seen before, every time he'd become violent. The bizarre reddish shine in his bottomless eyes. The unfamiliar gravelliness to his voice.

"Not nearly enough," he snickered, and before I could react his bony fingers were cutting off my air supply.

* * *

Sorry this took so long. Again. And sorry to anyone who thought I'd stopped at the end of Chapter 7.

You know what to do. Review and be forgiving of my sporadic update schedule. I have schoolwork to do too, you know, and ever since my computer was confiscated... ahem.


	9. Head Like A Drum

It's apology time.

This fic has been abandoned for far too long. But with encouragement from An Angel's Broken Wings, I'm finally coming back to it. Here's to the future and more updates!

Apologies for the debatable quality of this chapter. I would work harder on it, but I've already lost the original AT LEAST 3 times, and I'm just going to pound it out ASAP. So if it doesn't sound as much like Percy as the others, well... phooey.

Chapter title is v. idiotic reference to musical group Head Like A Kite. I've never actually heard them, I'm just appropriating their name.

* * *

_Ch. 9: Head Like A Drum; or, I Don't Wake Up Alone_

* * *

Pain.

Not white-hot pain, more dull pain, the kind that feels like a rubber hammer pounding a square peg into a triangle hole.

My head felt like a bass drum, my throat like a sandpaper tube, as I dragged myself to my elbows. I was lying on my back in a dark room. Only a faint golden line to my right indicated the presence of a door.

A noise in the dark, somewhere far left. Someone-- or some_thing_-- was in here with me.

I tensed, reaching for Riptide and wincing.

Another noise. It sounded like an animal snuffling. Then a hiccup.

Crying.

I held my breath. The sound was heartbreaking to listen to, and I really wanted to comfort the crier (partly because it was making my headache worse) , but experience held me back. I could hear Annabeth's voice in the back of my mind: _Haven't you learned anything from our training, Percy? It could be a trick._

I held my breath, because a voice broke into the crying. A harsh, growly voice, kind of familiar-sounding.

_"Shut your face, you puling infant!"_

"I-- I'm sorry--" sobbed yet another voice. I froze: It sounded like Alexis. "I can't--- I didn't want to--"

_"No sacrifice is too great for the Great Old Ones!"_ bellowed the rough voice. _"Do you want the Master to throw you to the beasts?"_

"No--"

_"Then for God's sake, clean yourself up. I'm going."_

No sound of footsteps, only deep breaths as Alexis composed himself.

I couldn't take it any more. I reached into my pocket and pulled out Riptide. Then a stick of gum. Then a rubber band and a bus token. Mentally cursing, I kept scrambling until I found what I wanted; my LED keychain that Tyson had given me. He'd painted it in the design of a little Cyclops eye. Pressing the pupil, I shined the light up and down across the walls until the bluish beam passed over a blotch of white in the stifling black.

Alexis.

"Uh... Alexis? Are you okay?" My voice was raspy from disuse and trauma; I shuddered, because I sounded a little like the sinister voice I'd heard earlier.

He cringed back from the light and me. Hurriedly I clicked the light off so it wasn't blinding him and scuffled over on my hands and knees. Just that little movement made my brain twirl. He swung out, clipping my shoulder.

"Ow! Alexis, it's okay! It's me. Percy." I coughed, feeling my throat burn. If only I had my canteen.

"Get away! Don't touch me! It's not safe!"

O-kay. I was tempted to agree there, considering fully half the time anyone got anywhere near Alexis he tended to pounce on them and gnaw their shinbones while flailing at their eye sockets, if he could reach them. But this didn't seem like the time to point something like that out.

"Percy, we have to get you out of here." He was sobbing again. "I didn't want to bring you here, they made me do it, him and Luke--"

Luke. I knew it. "Where are we?"

Alexis was hysterical. "Luke's ship, the_ Princess Andromeda_, but oh Percy, I have to explain--"

The_ Princess Andromeda!_ That explained the creepy sensation in the air, that oppressive heaviness like someone was watching you. I opened my mouth to ask more, but just then the door opened and golden light flooded in, blinding us both.

"Get up, half-bloods!" bellowed a horribly familiar, bearlike voice. "Luke wants to see you. Now."

"Hehe, hehe." A foul-smelling snicker in my ear, and suddenly I was being carried over a furry shoulder, Alexis was shrieking and clawing at his own captor, and all I could think about was that my headache was probably about to get a whole lot worse.

Glasses of water probably weren't in the near future, either.

* * *

a/n

Another short chapter because I'm pressed for time, but I promise the next one will be longer.

Are you still with me? Hold on tight, because it's gonna pick up very next time....


End file.
